Tag Archives: wall

Yesterday I wrote this post about the Occupy Wall Street Movement. I wish I was here today with more clarity, but, alas, I am not.

However, I did remember my husband’s mantra – he simply cannot stand it when someone comes to him with problems and no solutions. So, today, dear blog readers, I will offer some suggestions for those who are occupying. This is perhaps targeted mostly to those who are losing steam with the great movement as the weather gets colder and are now more open to alternative approaches, but you just never know who might benefit from the ideas presented here.

1. If you are sitting outside of the offices where decisions are being made – decisions you don’t like – your impact on effecting change might be minimal. And if you are spending untold hours sitting outside those offices, you might have some spare time on your hands. Why not apply for an internship or an entry-level position in said offices so you can actually talk to the people inside those offices?

2. Set up a sandwich and a drink stand. Those people have to be hungry. You can be a part of the action and become an entrepreneur at the same time. Just think to yourself, “WWSJHD” – translation – what would Steve Jobs have done?

3. Pretty soon you will also be able to sell blankets, scarves, and mittens. Get those knitting needles out.

4. Sell toilet paper. 🙂

5. Sell really soft toilet paper and hand sanitizer. 😉

6. Sell toothbrushes and toothpaste. And perhaps some mouthwash and deodorant. See, the possibilities really are endless.

7. Team up with a recruiting company and canvas the crowds. Find out who really has what skills and help them find work. (If you make a kachillion dollars on this idea, please remember the writer who was occupying her blog and sending brilliant ideas your way – for free, mind you.)

8. Have a friend who can write well? Get them to grab a laptop and join you. You could crank out resumes for the recruiting company.

9. Split your demonstration time with some good old volunteer time.

10. If you still plan to mostly occupy, then make the most of your time there. Pursue a passion. Read books on something you are interested in learning more about. A new career might just be right around the page.

10. It is my understanding that the military is always looking for a few good recruits. Your newly acquired outdoor survival skills might just give you a boot in the door.

I have to be completely honest here. I am not really clear on what the “occupy” movement is all about. Sure there are snippets about it on the news here and there and I have seen some pictures. But my understanding of it remains completely unclear and it continues to fail to capture my attention.

However, in an effort to not sound like a nim-com-poop, I decided to read a little bit about it. To figure it out.

And I found the “Occupy Together” website – it will tell you it is the “un”official website of the occupy movement and it will tell you this…

“People are occupying spaces in over 150 communities throughout the nation and many more worldwide. We have all become part of a network of people who are working together for something much bigger than any single person, idea, or group. The growth of this movement has been vast and rapid. As we are growing, it is important for us to be able to communicate with one another so we can support each other, share ideas, information and knowledge. This is how we will grow stronger. We have already seen a couple of locations start to form working groups taking on the large task of networking and opening up communication.”

Huh? I am still not clear on what that means.

What I do know is that I met a woman who was working at Walmart today. She spends three days a week at Walmart and four days a week watching her grandchildren so that her own daughter can work.

She is thrilled to have a job. She is thrilled to work at Walmart. She even thinks her management team is fabulous. She appreciates all that the United States has given her – mostly freedom from fear.

As she piled all the crap that I could absolutely live 500 years without in to my bags, she talked of fleeing Iran and arriving in America. She didn’t resent that I was buying lollipops and fake vampire teeth. Instead, she actually thanked me for being there, “because we are nothing without our customers.”

This woman and her husband snuck out of Iran because they feared for her husband’s life. They left in a hurry and took nothing but their children with them. They left houses and cars and family. They left memories and histories.

As far as bank accounts go, they were far wealthier in Iran. As far as security goes, they are far richer here. She is content to occupy Walmart.

So, at the end of the day, I am more impressed with the woman occupying Walmart with purpose and gratitude than I am with those who are occupying Wall Street.

This past weekend we hopped over to Beijing to see the Great Wall of China. That sounds crazy, right? Well it was, kind of. I truly never imagined that I would “hop” over to China. But it was fantastic.

The Great Wall is certainly great. Construction of the wall began in 221 BC under the direction of the first Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Further construction was accomplished during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). It is now 4,000 miles long. Urban legend holds that the Great Wall is the only structure on earth that you can see from outer space – but the actual astronauts who have been in outer space seem to dispute that. I’ll go with what they said.

So the Great Wall is up, up, up on top of the mountain – that means if you want to climb it, you must go up a lot of stairs – and by a lot, I mean A LOT. We climbed stairs for about an hour and a half. That was mostly because I way dumbed us down and took a long time getting to the top. My kids probably could have done it in an hour no problem. But, did I mention, it’s a lot of stairs? And stairs that were built a very long time ago – so some are really tall and some are not so much tall and some are crooked. And the handrail was meant for people with not very long arms. So, it is not like stairmaster stairs or escalator stairs. It’s more like Dr. Seuss stairs. Tall stairs, small stairs, and crooked stairs too. Up some, down some, and over some too.

And I learned this about China. Most of the doorways in the older structures have a step within them. I was told this is because they believe that evil spirits are short and cannot enter a doorway with a step in it. Okay – I am not one to point out minor details – but if an evil spirit has to climb, let’s just say 1,000 steps to even get to the doorway, it seems a wee bit redundant to put one more obstacle before him. But, hey, better safe than sorry on the “keeping evil spirits out” philosophy!

We did not have time to go see the terra cotta warriors while we were in China – so it was fun that these guys were there. Too bad he wasn’t available to carry me up the stairs.

And I think you should heed this warning.

We saw these locks lining the walls. I wish I had known that they were the “locks of love”. Couples come and add their lock to the chain, then throw the key over the side of the wall. I would have totally done this with hubby!

There are a few pit stops along the way – a couple of places to buy a drink or an ice cream or souvenirs. But there is only one “bathroom”. So go before you go. Or you will be squatting for all the world to see. This picture will surely totally confuse some of my western readers. So, I will answer a few questions – yes, this is the women’s restroom. No, there are no doors. No, there is not toilet paper. Yes, it is at least inside a room – a room with windows – but a room. Yes, be thankful this is not a scratch and sniff blog.

The girls and I went in thinking it would be a good idea to take advantage of the facilities and then we decided that we could wait for a better option. But on the way back down, I wanted to get a picture for you dear blog readers. So, armed with my camera, I turned the corner to take a picture and a woman was – let’s just say busy – so, I quickly stepped back out. It was really hysterical when she came out and tried to explain to me what the “bathroom” was. I just said, “yes, I understand, bathroom. Just wanted a picture – not willing to actually use it.”

This is me – totally ready for the adventure…

And this is me about half-way up thinking “how much further?”.

Just a few tips. You don’t need to carry your purse. You won’t really need a lipstick at the top of the wall. A water bottle is a good idea though. And I did start off wearing a sweatshirt with a light sweater underneath with a t-shirt under that. I was glad to have the layers. We were there in early April and it was chilly starting off. But as we walked up more and more steps, we were glad to shed the sweatshirts. I was also happy to have my sweater to put back on as we went back down the stairs. It turns out going down is much, much easier than going up.

This sign either says “Great Wall” or “do you have any idea how many steps that is?”

It was interesting also to see that there were no first aid stations or anything like that. So, really be careful if you decide to take this hike. I am sure most people are fine – but take breaks when you need them – and do eat a good breakfast. Truly, just when I thought we were getting close, we turned around another guard tower just to find more steps. Steps that were going up.

The views were spectacular.

And if you do make it all the way to the top, cartwheels are absolutely in order!